


Revelations

by OreoLuvr13



Series: Revelations [1]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV), 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: 9-1-1 Lone Star Season Two, 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 Lonestar Crossover, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Secrets, Gen, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Protective Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Protective Howie "Chimney" Han, Teenage Parents, season four spoilers and speculations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29266929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OreoLuvr13/pseuds/OreoLuvr13
Summary: Turns out Eddie is not the only one with family ties in Texas.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Grace Ryder/Judd Ryder (9-1-1 Lone Star)
Series: Revelations [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149515
Comments: 116
Kudos: 731
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my little spin on the whole Buckley family secret storyline. Just a couple of quick notes. First, this takes place within my Buck and May and Some Sibling Love verse so Buck and Eddie are together and the other members of the 118 know about them. Second, I’m making Maddie and Buck twelve years apart. That is not too far off the mark since that is the age gap between Oliver and Jennifer Love Hewitt and the age gap is needed for this idea to work.

Maddie takes a deep breath as she stands at Eddie’s front door. Both his truck and Buck’s jeep are parked in their driveway so she knows they’re home. She ignores the little voice in her head telling her to turn around and leave. That Buck will talk to her when he’s ready. But she ignores it. It’s been three days since Buck found out the truth. She tried to give Buck space like Chim suggested. _Give Buckaroo some time, Maddie. A big part of his world just crumbled.”_

And she did for the most part. She didn’t call him. She didn’t bombard him with texts asking him how he’s doing. But she can’t sit around anymore. Not when every instinct is screaming at her that Buck is hurting. That she needs to try and fix this. Just as she’s about to knock again, the door opens. “Eddie.”

“Hey, Maddie.” He looks at her with a fixed look full of trepidation and weariness. No doubt trying to figure out if she’s about to drop another bomb that will destroy them all. Afterall it was her need to be honest that just shattered Buck’s world as he knew it.

He looks down at the suitcase that’s at her side and back to her car. Like he’s looking for someone. His eyes full of concern. “Everything okay with Chim? Something wrong? You heading to the hospital?”

Maddie shakes her head and rubs her round belly. She starts to say everything is fine, nut stops herself. Everything is not fine. It’s far from it. “Chim is fine. He’s out with Albert.” She omits that he doesn’t know she’s here. That she’s ignoring his advice. “And if all goes right, I won’t be heading to the hospital for a couple of months. I was hoping I could talk to Buck.”

And that look of concern aimed at her just seconds ago is gone. It’s replaced with something else as Eddie steps to the middle of the doorway as if to protect anyone in the house from impending harm. From her.

Things are not great between her and Eddie right now. That’s the understatement of the century. They’re awful. He won’t take any of her calls and texted her just once despite her relentless series of texts asking how Buck was doing.His response was a simple okay. And that was only after Chim interfered, pleading with Eddie to answer Maddie directly because she wouldn’t take his word that Eddie said Buck was okay. As protective as Chim is of her brother, his first priority is Maddie and their daughter. That’s why she wouldn’t put it pass her boyfriend to lie and say Buck was fine even if told otherwise. He knew how upset Maddie was about the whole thing.

And that is why she understands why Eddie is eyeing her the way he is right now. Just as Chim is protective of her, Eddie is of Buck. With just a couple of tear-filled sentences she destroyed Buck’s world and now Eddie has been left to pick up the pieces.

_“You’re adopted, Evan. Mom and Dad are not your parents. My sister, Katie, was your mom. I’m so so sorry.”_

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea Maddie. Buck…Buck is not doing that great right now. He’s not really sleeping or eating. I don’t know if he’s up to hear anything else you have to say.”

Maddie was expecting this, but it doesn’t make it any easier to hear. Buck hasn’t texted her without her first initiating it. No baby check ins, reviews of the best car seats, or reminders to keep her daily caffeine intake to a minimum. And when he does texts, his responses are clipped and short. Not Buck like.

What’s even more alarming is that her brother called out of work the day after he found out the truth. Buck never misses work. Went to work fighting off a cold that would later turn into pneumonia. Goes into work when the weather gets cold and his leg acts up, trying in vain to hide his limping. He must have been a mess if he missed work because he didn’t trust himself to be in the right headspace to do the job he loves. And Chim told her that Buck was uncharacteristically quiet when he returned to work. So much so that Bobby had even picked up on it and pulled Chim aside asking him if everything was okay with her and the baby.

But to hear about Buck’s pain from Eddie makes it so much worse. Eddie doesn’t talk about feelings. It’s something that she and Buck have talked about on several occasions. So to have Eddie come right out and tell her how much Buck is hurting makes it all the more urgent for her to talk to him. To try and fix this.

“It’s okay, Eds.” Eddie turns around to where the voice comes from.

“You sure?” He asks, care laced in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Buck says quietly.

Eddie nods and picks up the suitcase before he pushes the door open wider, and the trio make their way into the living room. Buck and Maddie take a seat on the couch as Eddie places the suitcase on the coffee table. He runs a hand through his messy hair. He turns to Buck, “I’ll leave you guys alone to talk.” When Buck nods his okay, Eddie continues. “I’ll get some dinner from Julien’s and I’ll pick up Christopher. I’m sure May has had her full of baby-sitting for the day.”

Eddie bends down, his forehead touching Buck’s whispering just barely loud enough for Maddie to hear. “Just remember whatever happens Chris and I will be here. We’re not going anywhere. Remember that.” Buck nods and kisses Eddie on the cheek. Eddie gives Maddie one last look before he heads out. _Don’t fuck this up._

There may be only a few feet between them but Maddie feels like it’s miles as they sit there in silence for several long minutes before Buck speaks.

“Why are you here, Maddie?” Buck asks sadly.

Maddie wipes what feels like the millionth tear in the last several days when she hears the heartbreak and exhaustion in her brother’s voice. He looks pale. Tired. Eddies right. It looks like Buck hasn’t slept in days. Is it her imagination or does he look smaller? She pushes that aside for the moment. That can wait for now. “I came here to talk to you.”

Buck lets out a sarcastic laugh as he looks down, not meeting her eyes. “Seems to me that you said plenty the other day.”

“You’re right I did. I said a lot. Now it’s your turn.”

“My turn?” Buck asks looking up. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Mads.”

Mads. He called her Mads. Maybe she didn’t completely destroy their relationship.

“ I don’t know. Demand to know why we lied to you. Tell me about the newest car seat laws in California.” Maddie says. “Just say something. Tell me to leave you the hell alone. Anything.”

Buck shakes his head, putting his arms up in the air. “I really don’t know what to say, Maddie. Mom and Dad are not mom and dad. At least to me they’re not. You’re not my sister. You’re my aunt! And you all lied to me. For years!”

Every part of Maddie tells her to reach out and pull him into the biggest hug, but she doesn’t think he can handle that at the moment. At least not from her. So she lets him talk.

“I don’t even know who I am, Maddie,” Buck says, voice cracking as he fights back tears.

Maddie shakes her head. “You do though, Evan. You’re Evan Buckley. You’re one of the strongest people I know. You never give up. You survived a ladder truck crushing your leg, a tsunami, and multiple pulmonary embolisms. You are way smarter than you lead anyone to believe. You will do anything for the people you love and you love with your whole heart.”

Buck leans his head against the back of the couch. “I don’t know anything about my parents.”

Maddie bites her lip. Buck’s right. He doesn’t. He doesn’t know about Katie. How she came back that summer from Texas telling Maddie how amazing Danny was. How they’re going to try and go to the same college. How excited she got when the phone rang and Danny was on the other end of the line. Nor does he know that it was Maddie who Katie first confided in after she walked into their shared bathroom to find her big sister hunched over the toilet bowl for the third morning in a row.

_“What am I gonna do, Mads? I’m pregnant.”_

“You’re right. You don’t. But I do. Maybe not that much about your dad. But I know about your mom. Katie.” It still feels strange saying Katie’s name in front of someone after not saying it for twenty-eight years. Not since her parents laid down the law and said Katie’s name will never be spoken of again. The first being to Chim when she told him about the secret she’s been holding and now to Buck.

Buck angles his body towards her and looks at her with tear-filled eyes. All too familiar blue ones that are so much like her big sister’s. “What was she like?”

And for the first time in what feel like years, Maddie smiles. “A lot like you.”

Buck tilts his head to the side. “Really?”

Maddie nods her head. “Really. The way you go on Wikipedia and online research binges. Katie would do that. Well, not with the internet obviously because it wasn’t around back when we were young. But she would check out ten books at a time from the library. She knew so many random facts. Mostly about animals. Did you know sloths have a four part stomach?”

Buck tilts his head to the side. Like how Katie would when she read about something new. “What? They do?”

Maddie nods. “They do.”

“What else?”

She has so much to say about Katie. Her sister was one of, if not the biggest part of Maddie’s life for her first twelve years. It’s like the dam has been opened. There’s so much to tell Buck, but she quickly sorts through and picks out what Buck needs to hear right now. What characteristics they share. What parts he got from the mother he never knew.

“She was really quick on her feet. She came up with some great ideas that worked. One summer I wanted a slip n’slide. Mom and Dad wouldn’t let me get one. So when they weren’t home, she’d take the tarp that we would use to cover the patio furniture, put it on the grass and turn on the hose. Voila. A homemade slip n’slide. We would spend hours on that thing.” Maddie smiles at the memory.

“Next to you she had the biggest heart. She really loved animals. She even named the racoons that would get into our garbage. Named them Cabbage, Marvin, and Zorro,” Maddie says. “That’s why she decided to take that job as a ranch hand down in Texas one summer. She wanted to study wildlife science at the University of Maine. She thought the experience would look good on her college applications.”

“That’s where she met my dad?”

Maddie nods her head. “It is. Like I said you’re a lot like her. The way you love with all your heart. You get that from her. She fell for him hard and fast.”

“That’s when she got pregnant?’ Buck asks as his fingers nervously play with the hem of his basketball shorts. Maddie nods. “Mom and dad must have been thrilled. A pregnant teenager under their roof.”

Maddie doesn’t answer. She doesn’t need to. Buck’s right. Their parents were outraged when Katie told them she was pregnant. Their parents didn’t yell a lot. That would take too much effort. But boy did they when Katie dropped her bombshell that night after the dinner dishes were cleared and mom was getting ready to plate up desert, and a pale Katie made her way back to the dining room table after sprinting to the bathroom when the overly sweet smell of chocolate cream pie became too much.

“Was my dad around?”

Maddie smiles sadly. “He was. Well as much as he could be since he was living thousands of miles away from you guys. He did come up to Pennsylvania to see you right after you were born. And Katie brought you to Texas once to meet your dad’s family.”

“That’s it?” Buck asks. His voice sounding so small. “They weren’t around after…she died?”

Without thinking, Maddie rubs her belly as in some vain attempt to protect her unborn daughter from the pain that is radiating off of Buck. She’s been thinking a lot about Katie lately. While her own unexpected pregnancy came in the midst of a global pandemic and she’s full of anxiety, she still has a large support system that’s there for her. Katie didn’t. She must have been absolutely terrified when she was pregnant. She was a teenager and her baby’s father lived miles away in another state. Their parents cold and detached. Her only real support system being a handful of friends who were more excited about buying cute baby clothes than anything else and her twelve year old sister.

“Things got complicated after Katie died. Mom and dad wanted to pretend like she never existed. They took down all the pictures of her. Packed up her room. Never mentioned her name again. Danny was a reminder of her so they cut off all contact with him.”

“He let them?”

She knows where Buck’s mind is going. Why didn’t they fight to be a part of his life. That’s another story for another day. She has to be put out this fire first.

“Buck, he was just a kid himself. Still in high school. And from what it’s worth he really loved your mom. He was a mess after she died. From what I hear he was never the same after that.”

Danny was never the same after that January day. His grief was so huge and all-encompassing that he spent most of his life running from it. Never staying in one place for too long. As if he did everything would catch up to him.

“He wasn’t?” Buck asks. “How do you know? I thought you said mom and dad cut him and his family off.”

“They did, but I still talked to them. At least for a couple of years after Katie died.” Half lie. She leaves out that she still has Danny’s number. She doesn’t call him often but she still has it just in case. Like after the ladder truck incident. “Mom and Dad don’t know.” That part’s true.

Maddie may have been only twelve when Evan was born. Thirteen when Katie died, leaving behind a nine month old son, but she knew what her parents was doing was wrong. Part of her understood why they did what they did. Losing Katie so suddenly was a wound that cut so deep and no amount of time would truly heal it. But Maddie didn’t think it was right that her parents just cut Danny, his parents, and his brothers out of her nephew’s life. They loved Evan. She still remembers their excited smiles when they held him and the endless amounts of thank you’s after getting a new pack of pictures in the mail.

And when Maddie tried to speak to her parents about it her concerns were quickly dismissed. She was told that she was just a child and how they raised Evan was not of any concern of hers. That Danny was not to have any part in Evan’s life. So she did the only thing she could. She didn’t speak to them about Danny and his family ever again. But she did what she could. She took pictures. Used her own allowance to get the pictures developed at the local photo hut and mailed them off to Texas. Pictures of Evan on his first day of kindergarten. Him in his soccer uniform. Him smiling after opening up the Christmas gift that he thought was from Maddie but was actually from his family in Texas that he never knew he had.

“I did until I went away to college.” She doesn’t need to elaborate what happened after college. Doug didn’t know anything about Katie. So she threw out the paper with Danny’s number and memorized it. 

Buck lets out a tired sigh.

“It’s a lot. I know.” Maddie says.

“It is but I’m happy you told me.” He nudges the suitcase with his foot. “What’s in here? Were you gonna threaten me with moving in until I talk to you?”

Maddie lets out a laugh as the conversation became a little lighter. “No, but that would have been a good back up plan. I brought some pictures. Thought you might like to look at them.” She sits and waits. Let him decide if and when he’s ready to take the next step. Watches when he cautiously opens the suitcase and takes out a handful of photos.

“I can’t believe you have all these,” Buck says in awe as he flips through pictures of their childhood and young adulthood. “Man, my hair was out….of control.”

Maddie frowns as Buck’s voice tapers off. “What is it, Buck?”

He holds up a picture. “This.” Maddie’s eyes fall to the photograph he’s holding. It’s Christmas time. She must be about ten and is standing in front of a Christmas tree wearing what has to be the ugliest sweater ever knitted, courtesy of their Nana. Now Nana was an amazing baker. She made the best lebkuchen and snickerdoodles. But her knitting left much to be desired. And next to her with one arm wrapped around Maddie and the other pointing to Maddie’s hideous sweater is a blonde haired teenager. Her blonde curls are loose as they rest on her shoulders. Her eyes are blue like Buck’s and full of mirth, no doubt at Maddie’s clearly annoyed expression. The teenager’s mouth is open as if the picture was taken as she was in mid laugh.

“That her?” Buck whispers, his eyes never leaving the picture.

“It is,” Maddie says fondly.

“She was beautiful.”

“She was,” Maddie agrees. “She was also a joker,” she says as she remembers that Christmas from so long ago.

“She was?” Buck asks looking up from the picture.

“Oh yeah. She told Nana that my favorite colors were neon pink and yellow. Hence that god awful sweater.” Maddie says pointing to the pink and yellow striped sweater she was wearing in the picture.

Buck smiles as he puts the picture aside and picks up another. His eyes crinkling in concentration.

“What?” Maddie asks as she looks at the picture in his hand.

It’s a kid not much older than Christopher holding a newborn. “That’s from when Katie took you to Texas to meet your dad’s family. That’s your father’s kid brother. He’s one of four. One older and two younger, I think. That’s you and him. From what I remember he was so excited about being an uncle. Remember Dillo?”

Buck gives her an “of course I do” look. Dillo was a stuffed armadillo that he had when he was a kid. He couldn’t sleep without it. “Obviously.”

“Remember how you used to rub his tail on your face so much that once you got a rash.”

“No, but thanks for the reminder, Mads.”

She points to the kid in the picture. “Well, he’s the one who gave it to you.”

“He did?”

Maddie nods and is about to retell the story of how she had to sew one of Dillo’s eyes back on after Buck chewed it off when she notices his frowning at the picture. “Buck, what is it?”

Buck bites his lip. “You said that my dad’s from Texas?”

“I think somewhere around Austin, why?” Maddie asks nervously.

Buck puts the picture down. He puts his head in his hands and lets out a loud sigh. “I think I met him.”

She lets out a sigh of relief. “I told you, you did. Here.” Maddie says pointing to the old picture they were both just looking at.

“No, Maddie.” Buck says letting out a nervous laugh. “More recent. Like a month ago.”

Maddie thinks back. A month ago? What was going on a month ago? Damn pandemic and pregnancy hormones. Everything just rolls together. “Wait are you thinking of when you, Eddie, and Hen went to Texas? Buck, Texas is a big state. I highly doubt you ran into your father’s family.”

“Don’t talk about odds with me Maddie. I survived a ladder truck falling on me, two pulmonary embolisms, and a tsunami. What are the odds for that?”

Maddie holds up her hands. “Fine, but Buck you running into your dad’s family is crazy.”

“I know it is,” Buck says picking up the picture. “But I swear I’ve met this guy in Texas. He’s part of an engine company out of Austin. He’s obviously a lot older than he was here, but I swear Maddie, it’s him.”

“You really think so?” Maddie looks at the picture and then back at Buck.

“I do,” Buck replies. “What’s my dad’s last name?”

“Ryder. Your dad’s name is Danny Ryder and that is your uncle Judd.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So Evan knows who his parents are. I get that, but why are you calling me now? Is he in some sort of trouble?”  
> “No, he’s not in any trouble. I’m calling you because Maddie told me something else. Judd, you seen him.”  
> He’s seen Evan? Oh crap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m overwhelmed (in a good way) with the response that this story got. This was a spur of the moment idea that I just rolled with and wasn’t sure how it would be received. Thank you all for the love

Judd is in his happy place. He has a beer in one hand and a pair of tongs in the other to flip a steak. He lets out a soft moan when the delicious aroma of grilled meat fills the air. Work was good and Grace will be home any second. Even better they both have tomorrow off.

“Well isn’t that a sight for sore eyes.”

Speak of the devil. “Hey, Grace.”

“Hey,” she says as she moves towards him. They share a quick kiss and he gives her the glass of wine he had waiting for her.

“Good to see you too, Gracie.”

She smirks and motions with her chin to the grill. “I was talking about dinner. I’m starving. But it’s good to see you too.”

“Thanks,” Judd smiles as he turns back to the grill. “How was your day?”

“It was good. Nothing too out of the ordinary except for the fact that Dan called me three times. I finally picked up on the third one. He said you weren’t answering his calls.”

Judd takes a sip of beer, eyeing the steak with a careful eye. “It was busy and I didn’t really have time to hear about how we should go down to see him in Costa Rica for some cave diving.”

“Cave diving was Mexico. Zip lining is Costa Rica.” Grace says with a smile. “And I don’t know about you but I can use a vacation.”

“You know what I mean Grace,” Judd says as he checks the steak again.

“I do, but I just want to remind you that he is your brother. I know you two have had your issues but he’s family.”

To say he and Daniel have issues is putting it mildly. There is a seven year age gap between them and they are polar opposites. Dan is constantly jetting off from one adventure to the next all over the world, while Judd is perfectly content with his life here in Austin. And even though it’s been years he still pissed that while Judd stayed by his mother’s bedside throughout her cancer diagnosis driving her to radiation and chemotherapy, Dan was in Machu Picchu and the Maldives only venturing back home two days before their mother’s passing only to leave three days after she was buried.

“He’s probably in some sort of trouble again,” Judd says.

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Grace says taking a sip of wine. “But he called you and if you can’t call family if you’re in trouble then who can you call? You of all people know tomorrow is not always guaranteed. I mean think of Tim. Jesus. He was here one minute and gone the next. All I’m saying is answer his call. When was the last time you talked to him? Six months?”

“Seven and I called him.”

“Yeah, so the fact that he has called us all day tells me he clearly has something he wants to talk to you about. We’re living in a crazy world. You don’t want any more regrets about what you could have done. So pick up the next time he calls. Hear him out You won’t know what he has to say unless you talk to him.”

Judd nods. Grace is right. She always is. He’s just gonna pick up the next time he calls. Least he can do is hear what his brother has to say. “You’re right. I’ll answer the next time he calls.”

“Good,” Grace says running her hand up his wrist. “I told him to call back later tonight.”

Judd chuckles. “Of course you did.”

“Now you finish the steak. I’ll make a quick salad.”

“Oh, Grace. Come on! I’m doing potatoes on the grill.”

She turns around and is already heading towards the house. “That’s not a vegetable and I know Owen was off today which means you probably ate nothing but junk all day.”

Judd shakes his head. He knows when not to argue with Gracie.

**XXXXX**

Judd doesn’t have to wait long before Dan calls again. Dinner is done and he and Grace are sitting by the fire pit. He’s on another beer and she’s on her second glass of wine. They don’t have work tomorrow so they both can truly relax. Well he can after he finds out what his brother wants. Luckily, he doesn’t have to wait long when he his phone begins to ring. He looks at his phone and sees it’s Danny calling.

“Be nice,” Grace warns.

“I’m always nice,” Judd mutters before answering. “Hey, dumbass.” He ignores Grace’s eye roll. “What has your panties in a twist that you’re calling Grace and me all day.”

_“Nice to hear from you too, Judd.”_

Judd can’t help but smile when he hears his brother’s voice. His brother might drive him crazy sometimes but he still loves him. “It’s nice to hear your voice too. What type of trouble are you in this time? What get rich scheme you involved in with now? Who did you piss off?”

_“Judd, it’s nothing like that. You know I’m on the straight and narrow now. Ever since that thing in the Dominican Republic.”_

“Okay, if you say so. So if you’re not in trouble then where the hell have you been? I haven’t heard from you in over six months.”

_“I know I should have called. Especially with everything going on. You guys okay?”_

“Damn right you should have. We’re only in the middle of a global pandemic We’re all okay by the way.”

“Judd!” Grace hisses.

_“I’m sorry. I should have called. But listen. Juddy, I have to tell you something. Something big.”_

Juddy? He hasn’t heard his brother call him that in years. Not since he was a kid. Back before Danny was a rebel without a cause. Before he left Texas without looking back. Before he dropped out of UT. Before the drinking. And the fighting. Back when it would be him and Danny against Andy and Hank in family touch football games in the backyard. Back when he would drop Judd off at school in the truck, he was so proud of because he paid for it with his own money. The cool big brother who didn’t mind when his kid brother followed him around like a damn puppy dog. Back when Danny was head over heels in love with Katie. Before Evan was born. Before Katie was dead and Evan was no longer a part of their lives.

“What’s going on, Danny?”

_“Maddie called me.”_

“Maddie?” Judd repeats. Trying to place the familiar sounding name. “As in Buckley? Katie’s Maddie?”

_“Yeah, Katie’s sister.”_

“Wait you still talk to Maddie? I thought she stopped contacting you when she went to college.”

_“I don’t talk to her a lot. Like maybe every two years if that. But she called me last night. The kid knows. Everything. About me. Katie. He knows the truth, Judd.”_

His brother may not have mentioned the kid by name but Judd knows exactly who he is talking about. He only met his nephew once and the only tangible evidence he has of the kid’s existence fits in a small shoebox. A collection of pictures that stops suddenly at age six. The kid forever frozen at that age in Judd’s mind.

“The kid knows,” Judd repeats.

“Evan,” Grace repeats softly.

Grace knows all about Evan. Judd told him about him after they started getting serious and he brought her home. His father saying that she reminded him of Katie. Judd told her that was the highest compliment. Grace asked when she was going to meet her. Buck told her how that would never be that Katie was no longer alive. Then he went on to tell his future wife what Katie was like. How she was seen as the perfect match for a Ryder boy. His whole family fell in love with her when Danny brought her home. She was so unlike the usual cheerleader type that Danny normally dated. She was pretty, smart, and funny. She could take as much as she could dish out. How she genuinely enjoyed spending time with the family and didn’t mind when Judd had to tag along with Danny and her to the movies because there was no one else to watch him. She understood the responsibilities of being an older sibling. She had a sister around Judd’s age. Her place in the Ryder family only cemented more when she gave birth to their oldest grandchild.

Her sudden death not only broke Danny, but the whole family grieved as well. Losing Evan to the Buckley’s only compounded their grief. The kid would never know about the family that not only loved and grieved for Katie, but for him as well.

That is until now apparently. Jesus, Evan knows the truth. That his parents are not Philip and Margaret Buckley, but Katie Buckley and Danny Ryder. But why is his brother calling him about this?

“So Evan knows who his parents are. I get that, but why are you calling me now? Is he in some sort of trouble?”

_“No, he’s not in any trouble. I’m calling you because Maddie told me something else. Judd, you seen him.”_

He’s seen Evan? Oh crap.

“What are you talking about?” Judd asks as he tries to keep the annoyance in his voice to a minimum. Sometimes talking to Danny is so damn frustrating. He loves his big brother, but he swears the guy talks in riddles. Grace gives him a look. _Easy._

_“Turns out that you never outgrew that ugly mug of yours.”_

“What the hell are you talking about, Danny?”

_“After Maddie told him everything they were going through some old pictures. He came across the one with you holding him when he was a baby. When Katie brought him down to Texas. Remember that one?”_

“’Course I do,” Judd says, wincing when he hears his voice cracking. He squeezes Grace’s fingers when she runs her hand over his hand. It was the only picture that there was of him and Evan. Before Katie died and her bastard parents cut them out of Evan’s life.

_“Well he saw it and recognized you. Said he met you when he came to Texas a month ago. You guys dealing with some wildfires?”_

“Of course we are, Danny! It’s freaking Texas. They’re contained now but it was pretty bad a few weeks ago. But let’s get back on point. Where did Evan say he recognize me from?”

_“You guys had some out of state crews come in to help out, right?”_

Judd’s mind is slowly putting together the random puzzle pieces his brother is slowly revealing. Evan is a firefighter. Shit. Evan is a firefighter.

“Yeah, but none from Pennsylvania.”

_“Evan hasn’t lived in Pennsylvania in over a decade. He’s been in California for the last couple of years. Los Angles more specifically.”_

Judd thinks back to the out of states crew that came in to help out. The one from LA more specifically. Diaz. California by way of El paso. That female paramedic that went out with Strand. And… “Dumbasser.”

“Judd!” Grace admonishes with raised eyebrows.

_“Excuse me?” Danny asks._

Judd laughs. “Why am I not surprised. Of course it would be your kid who would try to steal a fire truck, drive off into the wildfire with only TK and no other back up. That is so something you would have done.”

“That was Evan!” Grace says remembering the story. “You called your nephew dumbasser?”

 _“_ No, I mean yes. But I didn’t know he was my nephew at the time.”

“ _You had no idea it was him? You didn’t put two and two together?”_

“Put him on speaker,” Grace orders as she moves closer to the phone. “I’m here, Danny.”

“Look, sorry if I didn’t realize that Buck is also your kid who was gonna run off with dumbass number one, but I’ve met a lot of dumbasses in my line of work. How was I supposed to know I was related to this particular dumbass.”

_“But Juddy, his nickname is Buck. As in Buckley. Evan Buckley.“_

“Buck,” Judd repeats. Shit. He definitely missed that. “I didn’t know it came from his last name. How was I supposed to know that.”

“Wait, doesn’t Evan have a distinctive birthmark near his eye?” Grace asks touching above her own. “You didn’t notice that?”

Shit. Who is the dumb ass now. “Things were a little crazy. We were afraid the wind was gonna shift and Strand was missing, sorry if I wasn’t putting the pieces together that the kid in front of me was actually my long lost nephew.”

Grace squeezes he husband’s bicep. “So he knows the truth? How did he take it?”

**_“_ ** _About as well as you would think.”_

“Kid just had the rug pulled out from under him. Everything he’s known just went to shit,” Judd says rubbing the bridge of his nose.

_“Maddie said he’s doing okay. Not great. But at least he’s still talking to her after everything that has happened.”_

“That’s something. I mean considering the fact that she did lie to him his whole life.”

“Judd…” Grace starts.

“Sorry,” Judd apologizes half-heartedly. Not truly sorry though. He will always be grateful to Maddie for sending them those pictures when Evan was a kid. But it was just a drip in an ocean of memories that his family weren’t there for. And then just as cruelly as her parents did, she too cut them off from Evan when she went away to school.

_“She says Eddie is there for him. He’ll be okay. Might take some though. I wouldn’t expect him at the next Ryder family reunion.”_

“Completely understandable,” Grace says. “We’ll let him make the first move.”

“Wait, did you say Eddie?” Judd asks.

_“Yeah, that’s his partner. According to Maddie they’ve been together for a while now. Why? You know him?”_

Judd smiles. “Yeah, I met him. He came out here with Evan. He’s a firefighter too. Works with him at the 118. He’s a good guy. From El Paso.”

Grace leans in and whispers in his ear. “Sounds like your nephew found himself a good ol’ Texas boy. Maybe he’s not as big of a dumbass as you think.”

He pecks Grace on the cheek. “I think you may be right.”

_“I feel like a third wheel here. I hear you two whispering. I’m going to let you guys go. Just keep an eye out for any calls from an LA area code. Just in case he decides to reach out.”_

“Will do,” Judd agrees. “And Danny?”

_“Yeah, Judd?”_

“Don’t be a stranger? I’ll pick up the next time you call.” He turns to Grace and sees her smiling. “I promise.”

_“Will do. Bye, Judd.”_

“Bye, brother.”

He leans back in his chair, Grace falling back with him. “What a day. What do we do now?”

He kisses the top of his wife’s head. “I think you’re right. As much as I want to get his number from Tk or Mateo, I’ll wait. We’ll let him make the first move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s it for this story. But here’s the synopsis for the next installment “Limbo.”  
> It’s been three weeks since Buck and Judd learned the truth. But both are stuck in a strange sorta limbo. Judd doesn’t know want to push his nephew into something he’s not ready to face and Buck doesn’t know if he’s ready to get to know his new found family. Luckily, they have Grace and May to give them the gentle push they both need.


End file.
